Park-O Series
The perfect introduction to orienteering in local parks.
Events for Everyone
Our Park-O events are an easy way for juniors and adults to try orienteering. Based in parks around Cambridge, Park-O takes place on a Saturday afternoon 1pm-3pm. We schedule our Park-Os in the gaps between our full scale Sunday orienteering events and we hope that once you have tried Park-O you will come along to all our events.
It’s a great way to enjoy the local parks and our friendly volunteers will help you choose the course right for you and get you started.
- Easy to follow maps
- Courses for all ages and abilities
- Friendly volunteers at every event
Courses
Our Park-O orienteering courses vary between about 2 and 3km
- Easy to follow maps
- Courses for all ages and abilities
- Help available for beginners at every event
- Help available for beginners at every event
- Help available for beginners at every event
- Easy to follow maps
- Easy to follow maps
- Help available for beginners at every event
Timing
- Flexible starts.
- On a Saturday afternoon 1pm-3pm
- Schedule in the gaps between our full scale Sunday orienteering events and we hope that once you have tried Park-O you will come along to all our events
Cost
- Each entry costs £3 for individual juniors/students
- £5 for adults (21yrs+) or groups
What is Park-O?
Park-O is a series of informal events held in parks around Cambridge and the surrounding areas. It is designed specifically for families, runners, and newcomers who want to try orienteering in a relaxed environment.
- Easy to follow maps
- Courses for all ages and abilities
- Help available for beginners at every event
Courses
We typically offer the following courses at a Park-O event:
- Easy to follow maps
- Courses for all ages and abilities
- Help available for beginners at every event
- Help available for beginners at every event
- Help available for beginners at every event
- Easy to follow maps
- Easy to follow maps
- Help available for beginners at every event
Timing
Flexible starts. Usually between 10:00–11:00. Just turn up, register, and go.
Cost
- Easy to follow maps
Entry is ~£3-£5. This includes your professional waterproof map and timing chip hire.
Ready to try it out?
To ensure there is a map available for you (and make things easier for our hardworking registration team), you should pre-register your entry, but entry on the day is also available subject to the availability of spare maps. Starts are open from 1pm-3pm although courses close at 3.30pm so please book an early start slot if you want to try a longer course. We have large banners at our registration point so you can’t miss us. We look forward to seeing you!.
Registration and start times
Park-O events are on a Saturday, and run between 1pm and 3pm. Unless otherwise specified for an event, the entry details and available courses are as shown below.
Entry Details
Colour Course Standards You may enter on the day; just turn up and come to the registration tent! However, if possible, please pre-enter at https://waoc.oentry.uk/ to ensure we have enough maps and to speed things up on the day. Pre-entry will close at the end of the day on the Thursday before the event, but the earlier you can enter the better.
| Children/Students | £3 |
| Adults (21ys+) | £5 |
| Family Groups | £5 |
| Second runs (when available) |
£1 |
Course information
We typically offer the following courses at a Park-O event:
- Short ~ 2km Easy (Comparable to a "Yellow" course at a regular Orienteering event)
- Long ~ 3km Medium difficulty (Comparable to an "Orange" course at a regular O event)
- Odds/Evens score course - intended for more experienced orienteers: visit as many controls as you can within a fixed time limit of 30 minutes. You can get odds and then evens or evens then odds, but once you switch you cannot go back.
If you want to know more about how we grade courses as "Easy", "Medium" etc., look in our Colour Course Standards section.